A Fitness Marketing Guest Post by Callie Durbrow

In my first post I talked about how I create a team environment for my personal training clients and how with the combination of this concept and incredible systems, I have set my retention rates at close to 100%.

One of the things I touched on was using a phone script and interview process to weed out the people who were not serious and make sure that I get committed clients that will train with me for a long, long time.

You know how cool it is when you get someone who responds to your Craigslist ad, stumbles on your website in Google, or finds you from some other form of marketing that you are putting out there, right?

It’s great when they email you or call you up and tell you how frustrated they are with their bodies or how excited they are to lose weight and really “work on themselves” for once….

So you tell them you are excited for them, and you set up a time for them to come in and meet with you, sort of like a sales meeting. These meetings are great because you can get into someone’s real desires and find out just WHY they want to get in shape and why you should take them on as a client. The day comes and you are all set to go. You have your paperwork for them; you are waiting at the front of the gym for them….

…and they NEVER show up…

How annoying is that? Not so cool anymore huh?

These are the types of people that will never commit to anything and your time is WAY too valuable to just throw it away like that.

This is one of the main reasons that I implemented the phone script (similar to what Chris uses).

I had to save myself some time and not drive myself nuts with these people who just can’t seem to commit, and if they do, will probably make your life a living hell once they become a client.

The phone script falls into a long list of systems that basically guides what happens is when a person calls me, emails me or approaches me at the gym.

First, I set up a time to chat with them on the phone. The call should last about 15 minutes.

At first it can be tricky because you have to be patient and really dig deep, but eventually you’ll get the hang of it.

Each individual is different so the key is to ask a lot of questions, and listen.

Here are the major phases for the phone screening process…

1. Pain- We want to find out WHY they are calling. Everyone wants to lose weight, lose fat, blah blah blah. We want to find out the emotional reasons behind this… the REAL reason which is usually 3-5 layers deeper than the original answer they’ll give you.
2. Investment- Find out if they can in fact invest the time, money, and personal motivation that it takes to be a great client and get into amazing shape.
3. Decision- You do not want a wishy-washy person here. They need to be able to make a commitment to the program and after they do the trial workout, the only reason they would not sign up is because they don’t like you or the workout (which would never happen).

Here are the major points of emphasis when you get the person on the line…

As I mentioned before, it takes a lot of practice and one thing I found in the beginning was that I was not being patient enough. You have to let the people talk and the more you dig, the more they will tell you. Don’t move to the next piece until you really know what’s up.

1. Greet them enthusiastically and be sure to remember their name and say it several times throughout the call
2. Ask them “Why are you calling to sign up with a trainer?”

At this point you will need to probably ask 5-6 more questions to find their pain and their hot button. Use phrases like “What do you mean by that?”, “How does that make you feel?”, “How do you mean?” “What would it mean to you to solve that problem?”

1. Make sure they are invested. You will want to get a “yes” answer on each question before moving on to the next.
   • It’s going to take 2-3 days of working with a personal trainer, is that something you can commit to?
   • You’ll also need to have 2-3 days on your own of mostly cardio and metabolic work, which I will provide for you. Is this something you can fit into your schedule?
   • In order to see the results that you want, you’ll have to commit to the program for at least 6 months. Is this something that you can do?
   • You’ll need to commit to a 85% healthy nutrition plan, which I will help you with. Are you willing to change your eating habits to become healthier?
   • The average program prices are between $____ and $____ per month. Is that something that you can budget?
   • Is there anyone else that you need to speak to in order to make this decision (husband, wife, family, etc) or is this your own choice?
2. The next step is to schedule the trial workout. I’ll give people a couple of times that I have open, with groups that I know will be really cool to a new person and make them feel welcomed. It’s important for the new people to see your best clients (raving fans) and show them that they can also be a part of such a great community.
3. After scheduling the trial workout I tell people that at the end of the workout I’m going to ask them if they can commit to the program and they can tell me yes or no. I want to eliminate the “I have to go home and think about it” because we all know that’s just a great stalling technique for the big fat N-O. I tell people it will not hurt my feelings in the least and I know that I gave them my best effort during the workout, so no hard feelings.
4. When you end the phone call, you’ll want to reiterate all of their goals and ask them if that is correct. This will just give you another “yes” answer and we all know that the more times people say yes, the better!
5. Some trainers get a credit card number to hold the spot of the person. I don’t go down this route but I think it could go either way. Just make sure you get the EFT set up as soon as they fill out their paperwork after the trial workout. ( I know both Chris and Zach Hunt are pretty good at getting almost everyone’s credit card over the phone… but it takes a level of and ease and confidence that a lot of trainers don’t have)

This phone screening process has been incredible for me because it saves so much time, it saves me from getting totally stressed out by annoying people who don’t show up, and it assures me that I will have solid, long term clients because I found their hot buttons and got them to commit to a long term program.

The process is not an exact science, and you’ll miss the boat on a few (I did last week), but all in all it’s a great way to really get a person fired up and get them committed so they love your program and stay with you for a very long time.

Be sure to adjust to it to fit your business, training model and personality.

Two programs that helped me a lot with setting up my scripts, systems and marketing are… The Auto-Delegation Toolboox which you can started on for like a buck or something crazy like that… it actually contains a copy of Chris’s exact phone script he use’s where he get’s the credit card and everything… just click here to access it now

And the other program is Chris’s Private Coaching and Mentoring Program… I’ve been in the program for a while now and absolutely love it… it’s paid itself off COUNTLESS times over… there’s nothing like having Chris in your corner to help build your training business… it’s like you have no choice but to succeed… you can click here to check out his Coaching and Mentoring Program

I’d love to hear your comments below about this post.

Boston personal trainer Callie Durbrow conducts small group training for busy individuals and also runs small group personal training in Cambridge.

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